


I Am Beautiful With You

by GreyForceUser (ReyandKyloforever)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ben Solo Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Rey (Star Wars), Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Good Boy Ben Solo, Rating May Change, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Touch-Starved Rey, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:41:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22685659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReyandKyloforever/pseuds/GreyForceUser
Summary: Rey has been emphatically single-minded since the moment her parents were murdered when she was 10.Taken in by her savior that awful day, he has taught her everything he knows, training her for the one thing he promised he could help her get: revenge.She is closing in on her target when a complication arises, in the form of a handsome starfighter racing pilot named Kylo Ren, to whom she feels an immediate and unusual connection.Their coming together will change both of their lives in ways they couldn't have imagined.
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 46
Kudos: 73
Collections: Solo Love Letters





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shestoolazytologin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shestoolazytologin/gifts).



> Title from the song: "I Am Beautiful With You" by [_Halestorm_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhOt8hvQ3-8)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a gift fic for Evi! (shestoolazytologin) based on her prompt: Rey was found and trained by Snoke while Ben never went dark. I hope you enjoy what I've come up with for you. 💕

"The hotshot pilot I've heard so much about," the dark knight remarks through the distortion of the helmet's vocoder.

The man is frozen in place by the Force and he looks a bit terrified. _Serves him right for shooting at me_ , she thinks haughtily. Her saber deflected the bolts easily, of course, but she wouldn't have had to freeze him if he hadn't been shooting.

Apprentice to the Supreme Leader himself, Rey Palpatine gives him a slow once-over, making sure he can see her unhurried perusal of him. Her smooth red saber lowers to her side, still ignited. Truth be told, she is rather impressed by his height; she expected him to be shorter. 

His face and neck are straining as he tries to fight off her hold, but it's futile to even try. No one can match her strength. It won't be long before she has what she wants.

She _always_ gets what she wants. This insignificant _pilot_ will not keep her from the information she seeks.

She circles him like a predator readying to pounce upon its prey, studying him.

_He is a fine-looking specimen of a man_ , she thinks before she admonishes herself for acknowledging such a thing. His attractiveness is irrelevant, he has something she needs. 

As she continues to stalk around him, she can't help but notice his tight-fitting attire is covering a rather well-sculpted muscular body. And now she is furious with herself because none of this has anything to do with why she is here in this forest. _What has gotten into me?_ she berates herself internally. _I'm usually much more focused._

She pushes the useless observations from the forefront of her mind and concentrates on why he is standing in front of her and what she is after.

Recentered onto her task, she now senses the fear coming off him in waves and she soaks it in. _Yes, he should be afraid_.

Perched slightly higher than the ground where he is immobilized, she raises her saber to just near his neck.

"The droid. Where is it?" she demands.

_Twenty-four hours earlier_

His first taste of knock-back nectar causes him to choke and cough.

"What is this swill?" he croaks, pounding on his chest, frantically trying to inhale oxygen into his now deprived lungs. His eyes are watering as he glares at the bartender. 

"What's a matter, boy? Racing legend Kylo Ren can't handle a bit of hooch?" the Crolute guffaws, his blubbery belly shaking like gelatin as he laughs. 

"Hooch I can handle. This tastes like bantha piss," he scoffs, still trying to catch his breath.

The creature behind the bar just laughs harder, moving on to the next customer.

A few moments later, Kylo feels a slap on his shoulder, startling him.

"Well if it isn't my old pal, Kylo Ren," a shorter dark-haired man announces loudly.

Kylo turns his head abruptly to see who has practically shouted his name. Between whoever this is and the bartender, probably every life form in the vicinity of Niima Outpost now knows he's here.

To his surprise and pleasure, he recognizes the noisy interloper instantly. "Poe Dameron!" Kylo responds, standing up to embrace his old friend. "Haven't seen you since Theron. How’ve you been?"

The two men sit, Kylo in his original spot while his friend takes the stool next to him and engage in pleasantries. The newcomer calls the Crolute over and Kylo contemplates whether or not he really wants to endure another mouthful of that horrifying liquid they are passing off as a cocktail.

"Wasn't sure if I was going to compete in this race, but I figured what the hell. I've never been to Jakku, maybe it's not as barren as people say," Poe states and his lip curls. "Turns out it really is," he laughs as his drink is delivered.

"Be careful with that; might be the worst thing I ever tasted," Kylo warns.

As predicted, coughing and sputtering soon fill the air and Kylo chuckles as he pounds his friend's back.

"Told ya," the larger man taunts. 

The two of them are laughing when Kylo notices out of the corner of his eye someone running up to the bar to talk to the Crolute. _Plutt_ , he thinks he heard him say his name was earlier. Whatever the news report he's just received is, Plutt sure doesn't look happy about it.

Kylo motions him over with a nod and asks in a low voice, "What was that about?"

Plutt looks side to side before leaning in closer and speaking in an equally quiet tone, "First Order ships just showed up. Not sure why, but it's never good when they do."

A string of colorful obscenities erupts from Poe Dameron's mouth and his facial expression looks exactly like it did back at school when he was about to be caught with spice contraband in their shared sleeping quarters.

"What is it, Poe? What's going on?" he demands, his eyes narrowed, lips pressed tight.

" Are they after _you_?" 

"Maybe? Listen, I need your help, Ben -" he starts before he's cut off.

"It's Kylo now, Poe," he sternly reminds his increasingly nervous-looking former roommate.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Poe acknowledges. 

"I'm not just here for the race. I'm on a mission," he says and Kylo rolls his eyes. _As if I hadn't figured that out already,_ he thinks _._

"I was here for a pick-up. I already got the item and put it in my droid for safekeeping," is his less than thorough explanation. "I don't know how the First Order found out, but I have to get it to the Resistance."

"What's the item?"

His companion looks around the cantina suspiciously, making sure no one is watching or listening before he divulges the contents of the package. "A map."

"What's the map for, Poe?" Kylo asks, his voice strained as ire and aggravation rise inside him at this less-than-desirable turn of events.

"It's a map to Luke Skywalker."

Kylo drops his head to his chin and shakes it, inhaling a deep breath, attempting to keep himself calm.

"Are you kriffing _kidding me_?" Kylo whisper-screams at the man next to him. That draws a few sets of eyes toward them, so they rise from their seats and begin walking toward the exit.

"We can't let the First Order get this map, Kylo. They'll kill him," the now revealed Resistance spy pleads.

"I can't believe you're dragging me into this. There's a reason I don't get involved in my mother's affairs," Kylo complains as they make their way to an alley right outside the cantina.

"I know. I didn't even know you were going to be here. This is just a crazy coincidence."

Kylo gives him an irritated side-eye as they continue down the alley. "Sure it is."

"It's in my droid on my ship. Just take it and I'll create a diversion on the other side of town so you can take off," Poe informs him as they are hurrying in the direction of his ship which he, fortunately, did not land where all the other ships were gathered for the starfighter race. "You still have the Silencer?"

"Yes, but be careful with it. It's a custom-made -" 

"One-of-a-kind-ship-made-just-the-way-you-specified. Yes, I _know!_ You've told me at least fifty times by now," Poe finishes the sentence in exasperation. "Now go!"

The two separate in the alley, Kylo heading one way and Poe in the complete opposite direction.

Kylo is internally kicking himself for getting involved. He has a strict policy about not participating in whatever schemes his parents have going. It tends to put a target on his back when he'd rather just be racing.

As he approaches Black One, there are a pair of troopers carefully looking over the posh vehicle. He has his blaster with him, but he doesn't want to draw any attention to the area, so he looks around. He's standing behind some crates in the shadow when he pushes the top one and it lands with a crash onto the ground, causing the two white armored soldiers to look over. One saunters toward him to investigate and Kylo easily takes him out with a pistol whip to the back of the neck. He quietly lowers the trooper to the ground.

The soldier at Poe's heavily modified X-wing is just a little too engrossed in their inspection and Kylo is able to dispense with this one just as quickly and silently as the first. He drags the unconscious body over and heaps him with his partner in the shadows.

Back at the ship, he climbs up the ladder and the droid in the back starts squawking at him.

"I'm a friend of Poe's," explains what's happening while he settles into the cockpit and starts up the lift-off sequence. "He asked me to get you out of here with the map. He's going to create a diversion - " 

Kylo is summarily interrupted by a booming and bright explosion probably about half a klick to the south.

"That's our cue." 

He finishes with all the settings on the control panel and is about to lift off when he hears blaster fire. Looking out the viewport to his right, he sees stormtroopers heading toward him and he has to go. _Now_.

The X-wing rises and takes a few minor hits before Kylo is able to pull up and away from the now swarming outpost. Soon he is out of range of the blasters and takes the ship up into the black.

Kylo never goes anywhere without a comm on him, given some of the questionable places he finds himself in from the racing circuit. Not to mention some of the characters he races with and against. He has no idea where the Resistance is, but he knows someone who probably does, and he's got him on speed dial for just such an occasion of needing a quick getaway.

A few moments later he hears a familiar voice over his comm, "Kid, is that you?" 

"Yeah, Dad, it's me. I need your help."

The Master of the Black Knights is not impressed. In fact, she's fuming. Her loyal Captain, FN-2187, pushes a dark-haired man roughly onto his knees before her. His hands are bound in front of him and quite frankly, he doesn't look _nearly_ frightened enough yet. _That won't do at all._

She lights her saber and sees the man flinch and she sighs to herself. _That's better._

She crouches down to his level and tilts her head as she skims his thoughts. Ah yes, she can sense he is hiding something. Using just the Force, she lifts his chin so he looks at her. He can't see her eyes but that's not the point. She's making sure he sees her _mask_. Ensuring he realizes just how much danger he’s in.

She makes him wait.

"They gave it to you," she says. "Search him."

FN-2187 pats him down thoroughly and she stands again while he does so.

"Nothing, Master."

Her rage is rising and this _kriffing insect_ dares to defy her! She takes a menacing step closer to him and without warning thrusts her hand out to grab him by the throat. Using her strength in the Force, she lifts him off the ground while she squeezes, and he struggles to breathe. _Now he's scared._

"Where. Is. The. Map?" Even through the vocoder, the irritation in her voice is blatantly obvious.

She belatedly realizes choking him while expecting an answer probably won't work, so she releases him abruptly and he drops to the ground gasping, his hands rubbing at the red marks now evident on his neck.

"Put him on board. We'll get it out of him another way," she orders, and her Captain drags the prisoner along to her shuttle.

"The rest of you, search this outpost. If the map is here, I want it."

She turns to stride back to her ship when she takes note of far-away blaster fire, though it's only because of her heightened senses through the Force that she hears it. Turning her head, she sees the distant vapor trail indicating a ship has just taken off. Inside her mask, she whispers several choice words in Huttese to herself, feeling very much like her map just left the planet.

Rage is now consuming her, and she feels the need to destroy. She walks over to a pile of discarded metal and begins slashing at it viciously, screaming and hacking out her fury as she methodically turns the metal into a molten pile of goo. The troopers quickly disperse as she begins her attack, all of them knowing they don't want to be on the receiving end of the master's wrath. She's panting and sweaty by the time she finishes, but she has vented some of her darkness, thereby decreasing the possibility she will tear apart their prisoner before she gets her answers.

Closing her eyes, she recenters herself and calms her breathing to move on to her next task.

She doesn't have an interrogation rack inside her shuttle, but she doesn't imagine she really needs one. Why bother with torturing this scum for the information when she can just take it. Instilling fear in her enemies is something she takes pride in, but she has never had a taste for unnecessary brutality. There _are_ times, however… 

By the looks of the prisoner's now bleeding and bruised face, her ever-loyal captain has already started the proceedings. Smirking to herself, she approaches.

"Comfortable?" she taunts. After the aggravation he's put her through, she might as well have a bit of fun.

He doesn't answer. Instead, he spits out blood onto the floor. _Is she supposed to be impressed by that? Disgusted perhaps?_ Whatever reaction he's hoping for, he's not going to get it. She ignores him and his spittle, stepping closer. 

"Let's begin. Who are you?" 

She doesn't always enjoy entering the minds of lesser beings. Some of them have truly depraved thoughts and memories. _Especially_ men. But she feels like this one will be at least somewhat gratifying after he's acted so bravely; like he has a _choice_ in what's about to happen. 

As always, she starts with what lays on the surface, just sitting there, waiting to be noticed.

"I didn't realize we had the best pilot in the galaxy with us. How fortunate. Was that your ship that took off on the other side of Niima? Were you the _diversion_ while your partner got away?" she mocks him. 

_Gods,_ it's _so_ obvious, but he remains stoic, which is fine with her. It's easier to tell the truth from lies inside his mind anyway. She learned long ago to never believe in the words of a _man_.

She lifts her hand and extends her fingers in front of his face. She attempts to enter his mind, but she meets an unexpected opposition. He must be more than just a starfighter racer because his defenses are actually strong, as if he's trained to defend himself from interrogation. _Interesting_.

She asserts more pressure, pushing further into his mind and the man begins to grunt as he tries to resist.

"Where is the map?" she asks concisely. The man is panting now in his effort to keep his secret. "Tell me what you’re hiding." 

It's surprising how quickly some interrogations are over once she asks that question. It's such an effective tool. It's like they can't help _immediately_ thinking about their secret. But not this one. If she must dig in further, so be it.

She pulls her hand back and his head moves in tandem, his facial features are contorting, demonstrating his discomfort as she continues her search.

" _Where is it?_ " she demands one more time through gritted teeth and he finally breaks.

"It's in the droid?" she says out loud, surprised with what she has taken from his mind. "An orange and white BB unit, is it?" He falls forward in exhaustion and she releases her grip.

Reaching down, she grasps his chin with her gloved hand and lifts it towards her mask. His face is now covered with sweat, his features filled with fatigue. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" she teases him again, then drops his chin and stands.

She paces quickly out the ship, just in time for a group of soldiers to finish their run to the shuttle.

"Report," she commands.

"Master, one of the racers was able to escape on the other side of the outpost. He was in a black X-wing with a round orange astromech," the out of breath stormtrooper informs her.

"Of course he was. Captain," she calls over her shoulder and FN-2187 moves to her side. "We're going to let the prisoner go. I'll put him in a Force sleep. Put a tracker on him and dump him. He'll either lead us to the droid or the Resistance. He was too good at evading to be anything but a trained soldier."

"As you wish, Master."

Black One drops through the clouds, heading towards the castle of Maz Kanata. Though Kylo has heard much about the woman, he's never actually met her. He aims for the edge of the lake his father directed him to and he sees that he is not the first to arrive.

He lands by his father's prized ship and encourages BB-8 to follow him. The ramp to the Millennium Falcon is down so he climbs it, the droid close behind. 

"Dad?" he calls as he reaches the top. Han Solo and Chewbacca emerge from the lounge together. He cringes as he notices his father looks so much older than the last time he saw him.

"Ben," his father greets before he pulls him in by the neck into a hug. His father is not the most emotional or affectionate person he knows, so he is surprised by the warm welcome. He returns the embrace somewhat awkwardly. 

He pulls back and Han still has him firmly by the back of his neck. "It's good to see you, son. I missed you."

Now Kylo is very confused because he is certain his father has never addressed him like this before. _Ever_.

"It's good to see you too, Dad," he replies before shifting his gaze to his father's best friend. "Uncle Chewie, nice to see you too." And before he knows it, he has been pulled into a big hairy hug, the wookiee ruffling his hair just as he did when Kylo was a boy and growling out his pleasure at seeing his nephew.

"Is this the droid?" Han asks, pointing at the orange ball before returning his hands to his hips.

"Yes. That's BB-8. He's carrying a map to Uncle Luke that Poe was supposed to get to the Resistance," Kylo briefs the Falcon's crew. "Until the First Order apparently tracked him to Jakku. He created a diversion so I could take the droid off-planet. No idea where he is now."

"Huh," is the only reply the older man gives. "Well, let's see what you've got BB-8."

But BB-8 is not at all sure about this arrangement and he beeps furiously, his domed head skidding around frantically.

"You don't know who he is?" Kylo repeats incredulously, his thumb jutting towards the older man. "That's Han Solo," he informs the droid as if that's all he needs to say. The droid, however, just slides his dome to the side in question, unconvinced.

"The husband of General Organa. You know, the Resistance General Organa? It's fine to show him the map," Kylo advises the little orange ball with a smirk, only to hear a variety of beeping now. 

"Who am I?" Kylo laughs. "Well General Organa and Han Solo are my parents, so I think I'm okay too."

BB-8 gives out a long whistle of comprehension and Kylo is chuckling again. "Yes, I agree with you. It _is_ a bit confusing with everyone having different names."

The three of them take a seat while BB-8 displays the holographic image of the map he's carrying.

They examine it in silence for a few moments before they all realize the same thing at the same time. Han is the one who speaks the obvious. "It's only part of a map. Where's the rest of it?" he asks, turning toward BB-8.

Beeps and whistles inform them that this is all Poe was given and BB-8 doesn't know anything else. They stare at the map a bit longer. 

"Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" Kylo asks his father. His uncle left when Kylo was just a young boy, so he knows very little about him aside from what his parents have told him and what the history books and legends say.

"Well, when he first started trying to revive the Jedi Order, he talked a lot about finding the first Jedi temple. But the Empire destroyed so many records, who knows if anyone will ever find it."

BB-8 shuts off the holo and asks if this is the ship that will bring him to the Resistance.

Han barks out a laugh, "No. This ship is too recognizable to bring to a secret base. Speaking of, do you know where the base is?"

BB-8 chirps he does but he'll only tell whoever is taking him there, for security reasons.

Han points at BB-8 for the second time, smiling as he says, "That's a smart droid. Come on, kid. Let's go see if Maz can get us a clean ship. Chewie, you stay back and fix that compressor issue."

Kylo, Han, and BB-8 enter the castle, trying to keep a low profile but Maz herself blows that possibility out of the water by shouting out Han's name from across the crowded drinking establishment, causing a hush to fall over all the patrons.

"Hi, Maz," Han calls sheepishly, waving at her before all the activity and noise resumes a moment later.

They sit down with Maz at a table near the back and the very tiny woman is staring at Kylo. She stares so long, he starts to feel uncomfortable. Then she shifts her gaze to Han smiling.

"Han, is this who I think it is?" she asks as if she has figured out a terrific mystery.

The older man leans in and slaps his hand on Kylo's shoulder, a broad smile drawing across his expression. "Yup, this is my boy."

Maz looks at him like she’s enamored. "Ben Solo," she purrs. "I finally get to meet Han and Leia's boy. It's about time."

"I go by Kylo Ren," he tells her, giving her his most serious expression.

"Why?" she asks bluntly, as if he is as daft as he is large.

"Life is less complicated that way," is his logical answer.

"I hate to agree with the kid, but he's not wrong. With my record in the galaxy and his mother's politics, he could have a giant nerfseye on his back if he used his real name," his father further explains.

Kylo is a bit surprised to know his father actually agrees with him. He'd always assumed changing his name pissed off both of his parents.

"Well, if you were hoping to not be recognized here, _Kylo_ , I hate to be the one to burst your bubble. Gambling on starfighter racing is big business here," Maz tells both men with a concerned look. "What do you need from me?"

"This droid," Han starts, jerking his thumb towards BB-8. "We need to get him to Leia. He's carrying something she needs."

"Let me guess, you need a ship," she drawls and both men nod. She gets up from the table. "Let me see what I can do," she mutters as she turns to waddle away.

Rey is meditating in her quarters to center herself and rid her aggravation from the racing pilots who stymied her earlier when she is called for an audience with her master.

She enters the throne room and the overly large holographic image of Supreme Leader Snoke is before her as she kneels, her head down in submission.

"My apprentice, you let an enemy of the Order go free. You disappointment me," the oily voice chastises.

Keeping her head lowered in the deferential position she responds. "My Master, the prisoner was more valuable to us alive than dead. The droid containing the map is his own, he will want to be reunited with it. And at some point, he will return to the Resistance. 

"It seemed more prudent to put a tracker on him than to keep him prisoner or kill him," she explains, giving her best attempt to be humble, though she knows she made the correct tactical decision.

"Well done, Rey. A very prudent decision indeed. You are proving to be a more than competent commander in the field. I'm impressed," the image compliments her.

She knows better than to allow herself to feel any pride in his presence. She utters a simple, "Yes, Master."

"The droid has been spotted on Takodana. Retrieve it and the map. Time is of the essence. The map cannot land in the hands of the Resistance. Do not fail me."

The holograph dissipates before she can even attempt to reply. She rises and leaves the chamber, her cloak billowing behind her. Her captain is waiting for her as she emerges into the corridor.

"The droid is with the pilot who escaped with it, along with Han Solo," he updates her efficiently.

"The smuggler? Interesting choice. But he is good at what he does,” she concedes. “We need to get to the droid before Solo leaves the planet. Prepare my ship."

It's not long after that they leave the star destroyer in her shuttle, accompanied by a division of stormtroopers for Takodana.

As they arrive on the planet, the transporters land first and waves of stormtroopers spread out on the castle grounds. Her ship lands after the troopers have secured the area. She marches toward the castle, reaching out in the Force but she can't focus in on anything that might tell her where the droid is. 

She stops when a trooper comes up to her and reports, "The droid was spotted heading into the forest, with the pilot. Han Solo was nowhere in sight." 

The Master of the Dark Knights immediately turns her head in the direction the trooper points and strides with purpose toward the forest. She stretches her senses as she walks, reaching for the Force signature of the pilot. It's much easier to narrow in when she has a specific direction, especially one where there are significantly fewer lifeforms. Finally, she succeeds. She can sense the pilot and his concern for the droid. Such determination! And fear as well. The guilt he feels over firing on a trooper. _How quaint_.

Honing in on him, she is able to track him easily. She ignites her saber. He has a blaster on him, he’s using it and she needs to be ready for him to fire on her. His fear spikes after her blade is lit. He must have heard it. _Good_. Her skin is tingling with excitement as she stalks him through the wooded area. 

Finally, she sees him, and he fires on her. She deflects his shots away easily and the thrill of the chase is rippling through her. As she closes in, she's careful to make sure the blaster bolts deflect away from both of them. After all, she's been searching for him and she doesn't want this to be over too soon.

He climbs up a hill and is backing up slowly toward some trees, continuing to fire as she approaches. Tired of defending, she freezes him with the Force, compelling the hand with the blaster to drop to his side, trapping it there. It's only now that she notices the droid is not with him and she frowns. She was so caught up in hunting him that she hadn't even been looking for the droid. _What's gotten into her? What is it about this man that has her so distracted?_

Kylo and his father are still waiting for Maz to come back to their table when they hear blaster fire coming from outside the castle. They exchange a quick look of concern.

"I know the back way out, let's go," Han calls as he is already hustling down a short set of stairs, Kylo and BB-8 following closely behind.

They are running through a hallway while Han gives his son instructions.

"Take the ship you came in, use your mother's personal code and have her send someone to meet you, just in case they were able to put a tracker on your ship. Got it, kid?"

"I got it. Thanks," Kylo replies. He's about to set off in a sprint into the woods when his father's hand is on his shoulder, turning him so he can embrace him.

"I love you, son," Han mumbles. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will, Dad," he hears himself say in response, feeling a bit emotional at his father's words. They break apart and he is off to the races.

BB-8 is a very fast astromech, being able to roll at a remarkable clip. Even so, it doesn't take very long before Kylo, who is not small by any stretch of the imagination, is spotted by troopers who start blasting at him.

He returns fire as he runs further into the forest before he realizes he must ensure BB-8 gets away, regardless of what happens to him. Instructing the droid to do just that, the orange ball takes off and Kylo prepares himself to defend, giving the astromech the time he needs to get as far away from the castle as possible.

The threat first appears as a red glowing sword, attached to a figure draped in black garments and black helmet, a black cowl draped over it. It makes for an ominous visage and he is suddenly filled with dread as he begins shooting. 

The figure casts aside each bolt effortlessly and suddenly his arm is forced down to his side and his entire body is frozen in place. He can't move. _At all._

_What the kriff is this?_

His stalker stands before him and now that he can do nothing else but stare back, he notices for the first time that the figure is a female. He can't see any skin at all so there's no way for him to know it's a human woman, but for some unexplainable reason, _he just knows_. 

If he was frightened before, the feeling is amplified ten-fold when he hears the menacing, distorted voice that comes out of the mask.

"The hotshot pilot I've heard so much about."

The comment surprises him, she's heard of him? _Interesting_.

The masked woman steps around him slowly and all he can do is wait. Wait for whatever she says or does next, the tension thick between them.

"The droid," he hears from behind him, his eyes widening in fear when the red blade of the lightsaber appears next to his face. "Where is it?"

She stays behind him for another moment before withdrawing her saber. He hears the blade retract and the crunch of brush underfoot inform him she’s moving. Then she appears in front of him again. A mere few feet away, she raises her hand toward his face and splays out her fingers.

He feels something pressing on his mind and doesn't know what to make of that at all.

"The map," she says then pauses. "You've seen it," she finishes with surprise in her voice, even through the voice distortion.

He doesn't know how she was able to tell that but apparently, she can, and he has to do a better job keeping her out of his head. She can't learn anything else from him.

She's still pressing on his mind and he is attempting to resist her when a trooper comes up close to them and reports that resistance fighters have arrived.

"Pull the division out. Forget the droid," she states, motioning the trooper over to stand directly next to him. She's behind him again and the last thing he hears is "We have what we need," before everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this flipped around adventure!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Interrogation™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a gift fic for Evi! (Shestoolazytologin) from the Pink Ladies Solo Love Letters Exchange.
> 
> Thank you to my dear friend Perry Downing for the alpha and beta! I treasure our friendship and soooo much appreciate your insight with writing! 😘

Chapter 2

He wakes with a jerk, eyes unfocused. Lifting his head up from where it was resting, he blinks while the edges of unconsciousness slowly ebb away to reality. 

Attempting to lift his hand, he is stopped dead. He quickly looks down at his right hand and finds it is immobilized by a metal cuff. Suddenly realizing his entire body is strapped down, he panics and his whole body tenses. The woman in black from the forest is crouching several feet in front of him and though she has on her mask, he feels the heat of her stare burning into his skin. 

He swallows, his throat bobbing as he does so.

"Where am I?" he asks, his voice raspy from sleep, feeling a bit victorious it doesn't sound as nervous as he feels.

"You’re a guest, on my ship," he hears the distorted voice answer.

He gives both arms a tug to test the strength of his bindings.

"You can relax. I mean you no harm," the dark shadow assures him. "As long as you cooperate."

"Where is-" he stops himself abruptly, slamming his lips together, just about to give away too much.

"Han Solo? Chewbacca?" she supplies evenly, already knowing exactly who he was asking about. "The thieves you call friends? You'll be relieved to hear I have no idea."

Anxiety rises as he is slowly realizing the precariousness of his situation, at the mercy of a phantom. Not only is he nervous and fearful, but he is also angry. How dare this creature pin him down like this! He has something he needs to do, and this _woman_ is in the way. His anger spikes at the injustice of being captive and helpless. Trapped like an animal.

The dark knight in front of him tilts her head to the side. "You're angry. You want to hurt me."

It's her calmness and the way she just takes his thoughts from him that makes him snap.

"That happens when you're being hunted by a creature in a mask," he spits at her venomously, attempting to shore up his defenses with fury.

She initially doesn't react. Then her gloved hands slowly rise to the sides of her helmet and he hears a decompression noise, the snout of the mask rising. She lifts the black helm off her head as she stands. Her luxurious chestnut hair drops down to her shoulders, framing her face, giving it an angelic quality.

Kylo is so shocked and surprised, he’s rendered speechless. He knows without question that the dark knight taking off her mask for him is unprecedented. But that isn't the only thing affecting him right now.

She is... _beautiful_. Remarkably so. Wisps of dark hair accent her pale face, a dusting of freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. Her hazel eyes are bewitching, and he’s drawn into them like a honeybee to a flower. Her rose-petal lips are perfection personified and her cheeks are flushed a lovely shade of pink as she meets his appraising gaze head-on.

He’s not sure what he expected to be under that mask, but he is absolutely certain that the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on is definitely _not_ it. To his great consternation and shame, he is _aroused_.

She gives him no time to brood as she steps to a corner side and deposits the mask hiding her beauty on a table before returning to stand directly before him.

He glances at her, unable to help himself, before shifting his gaze away, focusing on the wall in front of him.

"Tell me about the droid," he hears her natural voice ask.

This is not a proud moment for him, but the sound of her voice infects his very veins, setting his body on fire. She has a Coruscanti accent and he doesn't think he's heard anything more melodic and beguiling in his entire life. It takes him several moments to separate the sound of her voice from her actual question. _No wonder she uses voice distortion._

"He's a BB unit with a selenium drive and a-" he recites mechanically before she begins to speak over him.

"Carrying a section of a navigational chart. And we have the rest, recovered from the archives of the Empire but we need the last piece. And somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you. _You_ ," she tells him condescendingly. "A _racing pilot_ ," she says with disdain.

He glares at her, feeling well and truly put in his place by this stunning and deadly enemy.

She leans her face in close to him and he turns his head away from her, unsure what she is going to do. He feels her hot breath on his ear and a shiver runs down his spine, his neck tingling.

"You know I can take whatever I want," her husky voice murmurs into his ear. 

He's not entirely sure if her lips grazed his ear when she spoke, but he is _very_ sure that her comment went straight to his groin.

She withdraws slowly and he twists his neck to face forward, only to be held captive by her intense gaze boring into him. He swallows deeply, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he does so. 

He's had his share of trysts with women along the racing circuit, but he's never before felt what he is feeling right now. It's a bit frightening if he’s honest with himself, given _who_ is causing this reaction in him.

It's unclear to him if she’s as affected by their proximity as he is. If she is, she is much better at hiding it. He has no idea why, but he's felt a pull to her since he first saw her in the forest.

She extends her fingers out toward him, inches from his face and his muscles tighten, preparing for the intrusion. He feels the press on his mind but no invasion. Yet.

"So lonely, though surrounded by people all the time," she narrates, then pauses as she continues to pluck the low-hanging fruit of his thoughts.

"Your friends, your family. They're never quite what you hope for. Never the security and belonging you seek," she continues, describing the emotions she senses from him.

He tries to imagine a wall in his mind to protect himself from her. He's building it higher and higher, attempting to prevent her from taking more.

"Get out of my head," he commands, turning his head to the side again.

She ceases looking at his emotions and desires and shifts resolutely to the reason they are both here.

"I know you've seen the map," she croons. "It's in there. And now you'll give it to me."

She's so matter-of-fact about it, he almost believes he will.

Now he feels invisible claws begin to dig into him and he does his level best to keep visualizing that durasteel wall, endeavoring to prevent her from getting into his mind. His body tenses and he grinds his teeth as he battles to keep her out.

He is concentrating diligently on his mental image when he feels a tingle go down his spine as if she has reached inside his body and dragged a fingernail down his back.

"I'm not giving you anything," he asserts fiercely as they continue to play a game of wills.

"We'll see," she assures.

He knows she has much more experience in this than he does, but he will not go down without a fight. He keeps himself from thinking about the repercussions of her getting the information she seeks because it is too vital to the survival of everyone in the galaxy, let alone just him or his family.

The clash of their minds together continues and thus far, he has been successful in keeping her out. He sees her curl her lip in her effort to delve deeper, but he is able to rebuff her advances, building that wall as quickly as she tears it down.

He notices her hand and arm are beginning to shake with the effort it takes her to keep up her onslaught. Suddenly, something snaps, and the tides turn. He is no longer just rebuffing her advances; he is moving forward. He brushes up against her mind and slowly slips inside, reading her thoughts.

It's a most unusual sensation and there is something decidedly sensual about being in her head. Not sure how long he can keep it up, he desperately probes for something inside her that makes her vulnerable enough to get her to back off and end this.

He searches and searches, but she is equally adept at defending as she is at invading.

Suddenly, he finds what he needs. He gets a glimpse of it before she shoves it away. He chases it and grasps on to it as hard as he can. She tries to pull away from him, but he won't let her. He holds her tight, like a jackobeast with a bone, grasping and pulling until he has the entire thought.

"You,'" he taunts, leaning forward, forcing her to take a step back. "You're afraid. That there will be nothing left of you once you get your revenge for your parents."

She immediately withdraws from his mind with a gasp and jerks her hand away. His gaze drops to her lips as she mouths the word 'how' and she continues to back physically away from him, acting as if _he_ is now the predator. 

He’s relieved to have her out of his head and exhales deeply before resting back against the rack he's strapped to, completely exhausted from their head games.

She’s clearly shaken by what has just occurred. _Has anyone ever been able to resist her before? Has anyone ever been able to slip inside_ her _mind?_

Not taking his eyes from her, he watches carefully as she stalks off to the side, her back toward him. He sees her shoulders heaving as she takes in breaths, still rattled.

She turns her head to glare at him and he meets her gaze without fear. Instead, he stares back at her with confidence. He has resisted and dispelled her earlier assertion; she _cannot_ take whatever she wants from him. It's a turning point between them and he can sense she is trying to figure out how to proceed.

Wait a minute, he can _sense_ her? That stops him cold. He scrutinizes her and attempts to see if he can feel anything else from her.

His eyes widen as he realizes he can. He can sense her! He can feel her confusion and fear. _What the hell just happened?_

"What's happening," he demands, unable to contain his curiosity and confusion. "What did you do to me?"

She turns and looks at him incredulously. "What did I do to you?"

"Yeah. Something's different now. I can...sense you," he explains. "I couldn't before and now I can."

Her brows furrow and lips purse as she takes in his half-confused half-angry expression. 

She closes her eyes, raising her hand toward him and he flinches, tensing to prepare himself for another invasion.

Opening her eyes, she glares at him, tilting her head to the side. "Stop that, I'm trying to answer your question," she berates him like a child.

"Just relax for a minute, don't block me out," she commands him, very used to people just doing what she tells them to do.

"I'm not doing that. I already told you, I'm not giving you anything," he responds acerbically.

"Just…" she begins before she dips her chin, both hands covering her face and he hears a muffled growl.

Her head lifts and her hands drop. Her eyes are still closed, and she takes a deep breath, her expression serene. He thinks it might be one of the most breathtakingly beautiful sights he's ever seen.

She opens her emerald eyes to meet his brown ones and her bearing has completely changed, morphing into something markedly less confrontational. She's allowed herself to be more open, vulnerable even.

"Something did happen" she concurs. "I don't know exactly what yet, but I can try to figure it out. If you let me." Her eyes have a pleading quality to them and he’s torn between wanting to know what changed and protecting himself and his secret.

"Tell you what. If you feel me digging in, put up your walls again and it will shut me out just like it did before," she proposes, clearly believing she has proffered a tremendous compromise.

He considers her offer, but ultimately he can't accept it. "I'm the prisoner here." He emphasizes, using his eyes to pointedly call attention to all the points in which he bound.

She sighs, hands on her hips and nods in acquiescence. "Fair enough," he hears before he sees her hand wave in front of his face.

Her _guest_ is still in a Force sleep. She's in repose on the couch in her quarters while he’s still passed out, wrists secured to the armrests in a high back chair across from her. He’s otherwise unhindered. This might not be the smartest idea she's ever had, but he seemed genuinely interested in what had occurred between them during her mind probe. And it's been a long time since she was afraid to be alone in the same room with a single man. In fact, the only thing that scares her at all these days is Snoke's wrath.

She knows her captive poses little threat to her, her command of the Force and her combat skills far exceeding anyone she's ever come across. A _pilot_ does not frighten her. 

As she regards him carefully while he slumbers, she finds she is absolutely perplexed. Snoke is the only other being who has been able to enter her mind. His intense, and sometimes ruthless, tutelage has prevented any other Force user from doing so. Yet the unconscious starfighter racer in front of her did and in rather short order. Not only that but he was able to pinpoint her deepest fear immediately. Surely her mental barriers must be better than _that_?

With him out cold, she supposes now is the time to study his features unimpeded. He has a long pale face with beauty marks sprinkled haphazardly on his skin and as she stares, she notes his countenance is decidedly asymmetrical. She frowns at the clinical observation because she cannot put her finger on why his appearance is so appealing to her. But she cannot deny that his attributes are implausibly alluring.

She leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees and tilts her head to the side to get a closer look at this person who currently has a chokehold on her attention. _What is it about him?_ she thinks. Even in the woods when she first encountered him, she felt a pull to him like a magnet to durasteel. And she had this strange sense of not wanting to hurt him. Her exploration into his mind was probably the gentlest interrogation she is capable of performing. It befuddles her why she suddenly felt the need to be gentle.

Pursing her lips, she furrows her brow wondering why she did not sense him in the Force once they were both on Takodana. He was just another life form to her then. Yet there is absolutely _no way_ he could enter her mind if he wasn't Force-sensitive. She reaches out to nudge against him and wonders how she could possibly have missed the incandescent light coming from him. There is no way she could have. Something extraordinary has happened and she wants to find out what it is.

As if right on cue the sleeping man comes to, blinking and looking around, trying to suss out where he is. Dark eyes land on her, widening in confusion. It's only a moment more before he realizes he is still strapped down, albeit only his wrists this time. After casting an annoyed glance at his trapped hands, he raises his gaze to her and glares. 

"What's going on?" he demands, seemingly perturbed.

She sits back in her seat and crosses her legs. While he was out, she stripped off her outer layers and is left in a simple black tunic and leggings. Both of which, fit her like a second skin.

Smirking, she clasps her hands and lays them on her lap. "I thought a change of venue would be more conducive to... _discussion_ ," she answers him, her tone somewhat provocative.

He's looking around her quarters again and swallows. His throat bobs up and down as she watches him. It's a bit of a tell, she's noticed. Sensing his emotions, she can feel he is nervous, not unlike the previous times she's seen him swallow deeply. She'll need to get him to relax a bit if she's going to learn anything. 

"I'm going to release your bindings. You'll behave, won't you?" she asks, arching an eyebrow at him. He gives no answer, so she continues, "I've had some food and drink brought in for you. Are you hungry?" She gestures to the nearby table.

He looks toward the table and licks his lips. She’s mesmerized; she's never seen such full lips on a man before. They look perfectly kissable. And if her attention isn't already focused on his mouth, he starts chewing on the inside of his mouth, making his jaw work and his lips even more prominent. She has to shake herself to pull her gaze away.

_He probably thinks it's poisoned or something_ , she thinks to herself. Rising from her seat, she pads to the table, barefoot. She peruses the spread and picks up a piece of bread and bites off a piece. Once she makes a show of swallowing it down, she waves a hand to release his bindings.

"See? Perfectly fine. Now come. Eat," she coaxes.

He's still reluctant, however, eyeing her and the food suspiciously while he rubs his wrists now freed from captivity.

Rolling her eyes, she bemoans, "If I'd wanted you dead, you would be already." Then she sits at the table and pours herself a drink, then one for him. She ignores him as she loads her plate. It's nothing fancy, just some snacks of bread, fruit, meat, and cheese. If he cooperates, she'll have a finer meal sent up later.

Eating by herself for a minute or so, she finally hears movement from the sitting area. She sees him out of her peripheral vision as he slowly steps toward the table as if she and the food are a wild animal he is trying to befriend. He stands there a moment, perhaps still contemplating the safety of sitting down to share a meal with her.

"Try the grava berries, they're a bit tart but I like them that way," she mentions casually, trying to put him at ease. She takes a sip of her beverage to signal it is safe to drink before taking another bite of bread and cheese.

He's finally digging into the food, and he was clearly hungry. Though he doesn't put much on his plate at a time, he keeps going back for more. _Good._ A well-fed person is much easier to deal with than a starving one.

They eat in silence, but Rey is impatient to get started with her questions. She has so many, the least of which is, who is this man who has taken her by complete surprise?

"Do you know who I am?" she starts.

Her _guest_ immediately stops chewing and peers at her. He's looking anxious again but swallows what's in his mouth, taking a swig from his cup to wash it all down.

"I'd say you were one of the Dark Knights if I had to guess."

"You're partially correct. I'm _Master_ of the Dark Knights. My name is Rey Palpatine." She's watching him carefully for his reactions. He just nods his head in acknowledgment.

"Alas, I am at a disadvantage. You know who I am, but I don't know who you are. What's your name?"

"Didn't you get that when you went digging around in my head?" he scoffs.

She smiles. "To be honest, I wasn't interested in your name or who you were. You had information I wanted and that was what I was looking for. I don't waste my time on trivialities when I'm working."

He makes no reply, just stares back at her.

Shifting in her seat, she rests her elbows on the table and folds her hands together under her chin.

"But something most unusual happened when I was in your mind, and now I am _very_ interested in finding out who you are," she tells him conversationally. "So, let's start with the basics. What's your name?"

His eyes have picked a spot over her shoulder to stay focused on and she decides to give him a nudge in the right direction by brushing up against his Force signature and his eyes snap to hers immediately.

"Don't be afraid," she purrs softly. "I feel it too."

He's trying hard to not show his confusion and she's pretty sure at this point that he had no idea he has the Force. He continues to stare at her and doesn't seem like he’s going to answer. 

"Kylo Ren," he blurts out. "My name is Kylo Ren."

Relaxing back in her seat, she asks another question. "Where are you from, Kylo Ren? I was born on Naboo." She offers her own information in a show of good faith.

"Chandrila, then a variety of boarding schools across the galaxy," the massive man puts forth.

"So you come from a family with money. Hmm." Her head tilts to the side as she considers him, biting on her bottom lip. The woman clad in black stops what she's doing abruptly when she notices his eyes have dropped to watch, his own lips parting.

"I take it you've been unaware you have the Force?" Rey asks cautiously, after clearing her voice. This question clearly takes him by surprise.

"What? I don't have the Force," the dark-haired man insists, his eyes narrowing.

"I hate to be the one to break it to you Kylo, but yes, you do," she assures him wryly. "Remember when you went into my mind earlier? You would only be able to do that if you have the Force."

"That was...you did something to me," he accuses, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I entered your mind, but you pushing back and getting into mine? That was all you. I can't _make_ someone have the Force. They either do or they don't. And you do."

Opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally mutters, "I don't understand."

The Knight lets out a deep breath. "Well, that makes two of us. It wasn't until after you broke into my mind that I could feel your distinct Force signature. It's incredibly bright. There is no way I would have missed that in the forest."

He licks his lips and shakes his head before he asks, "How could I have the Force and not know it? I thought it was something that you always have? Not something that appears when you're 31."

"I've heard of latent abilities being awoken later in life for some beings, so I assume that's what happened here," she answers thoughtfully. "But what I don't understand is this connection. Between me and you," she elaborates, gesturing between the two of them. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Now he looks nervous again and his eyes dart away from her.

"In the forest when I first encountered you, I felt drawn to you. It's very unusual," she expounds further. "Now that you've _awoken_ in the Force, the connection is magnified. Force-users don't have _connections_ with other Force-users. That's not how the Force works." His face pales at that.

Rey can sympathize. When she first discovered her Force powers as a child, she was scared, too. Then when they grew stronger and darker, she feared what she could do with them. But then Snoke found her and trained her to control her fear and anger. How to harness them and use them to grow her powers.

"Can you sense me? Through the Force?" she asks and he shifts his gaze back to her. He nods again. "When you have the Force, you can feel all life-forms that are near."

"Let me show you something." Rising from the table, she strides to the door. Opening it, she gestures the trooper to come inside.

Retaking her seat, the Master tells Kylo what she wants him to do. "Now, concentrate on the stormtrooper. See if you can sense him in the Force."

He closes his eyes and she waits, watching him try to use the Force. 

When he opens his eyes again, she asks, "Could you feel him?"

"Yes," he confirms, nodding.

"What did you feel from him?"

"Confusion mostly."

"Are you able to tell the difference between what it feels like when you sense me versus when you sense him?" she inquires, gesturing with her thumb at the guard.

"Yes."

Dismissing the armor-clad soldier with a wave of her hand, he retreats back outside the door.

After the door swishes shut, she leans forward and hisses conspiratorially, "Do you see what I mean about the connection? Between us?"

Hazel eyes are boring into the man's molten chocolate ones, begging for confirmation she's not going crazy.

Her companion nods again hesitantly, as if admitting he feels the connection to her he has given something important away.

A deep exhale escapes her and she is relieved he's validated she's not imagining things. Thumping back in her seat, they stare at each other for an indeterminate amount of time.

"I do still want the map though. You know that, right?" 

His features harden at that and he leans back in his own chair.

"But as much as I want my revenge on the Jedi who killed my parents, my instincts are telling me this connection, you having latent Force powers awakened by me means something," she posits. "None of this can be just a simple coincidence. That's _also_ not how the Force works."

"So, what does all that mean for me?" he queries, a tinge of dread evident.

"I think we can help each other. I can help you find out why your powers have come to you so late and teach you about the Force. You can help me figure out this connection and what it means. And eventually…." she trails off, waving a hand out to her side. "But if I am to help you, you have to trust me. And in return, I'll trust you," Rey declares.

"And the map?"

"I will specifically tell you when I am after the map. But you have to not try to escape. My... _colleagues_ won't approve of this arrangement and should they find out, they will likely kill you. The map retrieved or not," she tells him bluntly.

"I thought you were the Master?" he remarks sarcastically, his head tilted and a smirk on his lips.

"Of the Dark Knights, yes. But not of the general who commands this ship. He's repugnant and kills just for killing's sake. I prefer to keep him away from my affairs as much as possible," Rey explains to the man across from her. "I have exactly one person I trust with my life on this ship, which means you have the same.

"For us to get anywhere, we have to work together. Do you think you can you do that?" she asks with a hint of hopefulness to her voice.

"It doesn't seem like I really have much of a choice here," Kylo replies, resigned.

"That may be true, but I still think we can help each other nonetheless. Do we have an accord?" she asks, offering her bare hand across the table.

"Yeah, okay," is his reply, a smile on his face that lasts as long as it takes for their hands to touch.

For when their hands touch, they gawk at each other with wide eyes and mouths agape, sharing the same thought loudly to each other through the Force.

_What the hell was that?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. Kudos and comments keep my crops watered and growing.  
> Come say hi on Tumblr [@greyforceuser](https://greyforceuser.tumblr.com/) or on Twitter [@forcegrey](https://twitter.com/ForceGrey)
> 
> I'm currently working on Chapter 3 of my canonverse "fix-it fic" story. I hope you give it a shot.
> 
> [ **To Be In Your Arms Again**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22011532/chapters/52528198)  
> 
> 
>   
> I have a few other fics if you're interested in:
> 
> [This is How Life Strikes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15624126/chapters/36278217) \- Reylo Modern AU, longer multichapter. Chapter 23 about to be published. Rey runs a nonprofit and Kylo is a corporate advertising shark helping her out begrudgingly as a favor. Each have their own secrets from the past. The attraction is instant but resisted by both of them. Until it's not. This story also has a big fancy event Rey and Kylo have to get dressed up for. And let me tell you, there are FIREWORKS!
> 
> [Let's Meet Under The Mistletoe (COMPLETE)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17180975/chapters/40396676) Rey and Ben are enemies and must work together to bring a high profile Christmas Party together in a ridiculously short time frame. Only time will tell if they will succeed or crash and burn.
> 
> [Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow! (COMPLETE)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17081243/chapters/40167917) Rey is a new professor at the New England art college Ben works at. A snowstorm hits and Ben must come to Rey's rescue. Cue fluffy and snowy fun.
> 
> [Love is a Misunderstanding Between Two Fools (COMPLETE)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16410599/chapters/38417672). A gift fic for the Reylo Writing Den Halloween Fic Exchange. Rey shows up at a Halloween Party in a costume that makes Ben sure she is trying to kill him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting interesting. Both Rey and Kylo are trying to figure out just what is happening between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a gift fic for Evi! (Shestoolazytologin) from the Pink Ladies Solo Love Letters Exchange.

Chapter 3

Staring out through the viewport from his perch on the sofa, Kylo's brain is attempting to wrap itself around the highly unlikely series of events that have unfolded in the course of one day. In just a matter of hours, he's been chased through a forest and kidnapped. He’s had his mind invaded (and inexplicably infiltrated _someone else's_ mind) and found out he has the Force, which he is still having a hard time wrapping his head around. He apparently has an implausible connection with a powerful dark side user and has been knocked unconscious by her twice. Oh, and that's not including the immediate and visceral attraction he has to that beguiling dark side user, nor the irrational deal he made with her before she had blankets brought up for him.

Now he's sleeping on her couch with her in the next room over and he is trying to make sense of this craziness that has become his life. How could he not know he has the Force? Wouldn't his mother have known? His uncle? If he wasn't filled with this heightened sensitivity to everything around him right now, he might think she was pulling his leg. But he _does_ feel different and it's all very, very confusing.

When they were sitting and talking, he could actually _feel_ her in his head. It was just a brush, no sense of intrusion at all; more like just letting him know she was there. It was bizarre but also... _nice?_ _Comforting?_ He shakes his head at himself because how can someone in your mind feel nice or comforting? Maybe her interrogation didn't open him up to the Force at all, maybe it's just made him _insane_.

But somehow, he knows that is not the case. He may not yet be an expert, but there is something telling him that this is all real. _An instinct._

Rubbing his hands up and down his face abrasively, he groans in frustration. Everything was going just fine until he ran into Poe and that damn droid. Now he's trapped in a nightmare he doesn't know how he's going to get out of.

He focuses in on the girl. _The woman_ that took him captive. What is her deal? First, she wants to rip apart his mind to find the map, then the next thing he knows he's in her personal quarters and she's more interested in figuring out a connection they seem to share. Why isn't she still hot for the map? Shouldn't that be her first priority?

His life in racing starfighters has not prepared him for this level of espionage and he seriously wants no part of it. But here he is on a First Order ship in the sitting room of the most fearsome dark sider in the galaxy. And she just made an agreement with him to stay out of his mind unless he gives her permission to? Something isn't adding up.

He considers this sense of connection to her, that feeling of her in the back of his mind at all times now. Is this what it means to be a Force user? She said it isn't typical, so why is this happening to _him_ of all people? Someone who never knew he had the Force until a few hours ago? It makes no sense to him.

Still thinking about his predicament, he feels her Force brush up against him, causing him to startle. It makes him feel hot all over to feel her like that. And then that comforting feeling surges through him again. How can a dark side user make him feel like this? This whole thing should scare the ever-living bantha shit out of him, but for some absurd reason, it doesn't.

Delving deeper into his memories, she has frozen him and knocked him out with the Force but she has otherwise been _gentle_ with him. Why is that? Truth be told, freezing him and putting him to sleep are not overtly aggressive actions. She hasn't injured him in any way at all. Isn't she supposed to be a villain? Even more confusing is the ridiculous _gravitation_ he feels towards her. Is this what they mean by being _seduced to the dark side?_

Then his thoughts shift to their little chat at her dining room table. She'd offered him food and drink, from which he partook eagerly, once he was sure she hadn’t been trying to drug him. The deal she offered was more than he could have hoped for, honestly. It seemed anything was better than her breaking into his mind for the map. He'd decided he would play her game, for now. But when she'd offered her hand and he reached out and grasped it, he felt electricity course through him and his world tilted on its axis. 

_His vision disappears to somewhere else once his fingers make contact with hers. Suddenly, he is in a completely different place. It's a large room ensconced in red along the walls, the floor shiny and black. He sees himself, standing face to face with Rey, awe and adoration plain on his face, hers full of determination. After a moment, her expression changes, her lips part open as she stares at him, her face softens and she gives him an almost imperceptible nod. Then they turn in unison, both of them raising blue lightsabers with fierce looks on their faces, as if they are about to take on a mutual enemy, together. Fighting together, side by side._

_The scene dissipates as quickly as it arrived and he's back in Rey's quarters. They are both staring at each other with complete shock on their faces, but with penetrating intensity in their eyes. He can feel the same emotions he has coming off her sharply. What the_ kriff _was that? The current that just went through him is still tingling in his hand as he gapes, wondering if she just saw the same thing he did._

_She's the first to compose herself and yanks her hand out of his as if she was burned, standing up and moving away from the table. Facing away from him, she's smoothing her hands over her clothes, clearly trying to regain her composure. Her back rises with each heaving breath she takes in._

_"Did you…" he begins hesitantly, his voice unsteady. "Did you see that?"_

_After a few moments of no response, he continues emphatically, shifting in his seat at the table, "What_ was _that?"_

_"Something that's never going to happen, that's what," is her vehement response, her back still to him._

_"I don't understand…" he trails off, his heart still racing. He looks down at his hand, clenching and unclenching in an attempt to get rid of the prickling sensation._

_She slowly turns her body and he shifts his gaze back onto her. Rey's forehead is wrinkling and she's biting on the inside of her cheek. It's the most uncertain he's seen her since they met. The confidence has completely left her, making her seem young and vulnerable._

_"It was a vision, from the Force. Sometimes Force-users...when they touch an object, they can be shown a glimpse of the future," she explains carefully, not looking him in the eye. "Or perhaps see events that have already happened. The accuracy of such visions has always been a point of contention. Interpreting visions is a tricky and often inaccurate endeavor. The future is always changing."_

_Pausing, she rubs her fingers across her forehead. Kylo waits patiently, hoping she'll say more. Rey sighs, still looking off to the side._

_"Most times these insights are agonizingly short, without context or time, and are only one out of infinite possibilities. It's best to not give them any power over your actions. The more you try to prevent or facilitate an outcome you saw, the further away from it you end up."_

_He rises from the table and makes his way around to where she stands with narrowing eyes and pursed lips. He's considering what she's told him, thumb on his chin and forefinger rubbing across his bottom lip._

_"So what I saw is something that_ could _happen in the future?" he inquires, thoughtfully considering the implications of Rey with a blue lightsaber._

_"_ Could _, yes. But if we saw the same thing, I can tell you right now it's never going to happen. I_ will _have my revenge on the Jedi, not become one." The vitriol in her tone is almost palpable and he can feel the hate emanating from her._

_Not moving from his position directly in front of her, he carefully considers his next words given her change in mood. But something she said earlier doesn't make sense to him._

_"You said you want revenge on the Jedi for killing your parents?"_

_"Yes," she spits._

_"Why do you think the Jedi killed them? That's not usually what Jedi do," he says with conviction and confusion._

_She tilts her head to the side and places a hand on her hip. "And just what do you know of the Jedi? How do you know they didn't kill my parents?"_

_"I don't know they didn't," he answers truthfully. "it just doesn't sound like them." He doesn't know much about his uncle, but he can't imagine him just up and killing a child's parents. There must be more to this story._

_She glares at him but doesn't grace him with further explanation. He's not sure why, but something is telling him this is an important conversation to have with her, so he presses on._

_"Will you tell me what happened?"_

_She scoffs at his request. "What's to tell? Jedi came to my home and took my parents from me. They cut them down with their lightsabers, showing no mercy and left me an orphan," she briefs him, her voice breaking slightly by the end._

_"What happened after?" he asks calmly, not yet understanding why this topic is so important but compelled to find out more._

_"Snoke rescued me and took me in. He raised me and taught me how I would get my revenge. He's-," she pauses to clear her throat after her voice cracks, "He's the only family I have now."_

_Kylo's heart constricts at the pain he feels coming off her like a tsunami. It's obvious that Snoke being her only family leaves a lot to be desired for Rey. Or it could be the pain she feels at having lost her parents. Either way, the pain tugs at his heart in a way he didn't know he was capable of feeling._

_"I'm so sorry, Rey. I can't imagine losing my parents like that," he consoles. "How was it that Snoke rescued you?"_

_"He was there, he saw it happen. He saw the Jedi strike them down and then he took me in. He saved me."_

_The pain is looming larger now and he can see tears forming in her eyes. He doesn't want to cause her any more pain, but he has to ask one more question._

_"Why was Snoke there?"_

_She snaps her eyes to his, her expression tight. Her brow furrows at him and she squints her eyes as if this question has never come up before._

_"I don't know, he just was. He was at the right place at the right time, I guess," she tells him flippantly, but he's not convinced the answer is quite that simple. He can see how uncomfortable and defensive she is, so he immediately asks another question._

_"How old were you when it happened?" he asks as softly as he can._

_"Ten," she replies, her bottom lip now quivering._

_To his great surprise and consternation, he feels oddly compelled to comfort the now extraordinarily young-looking woman before him. His body begins to move without his permission and before he has any time to think about it, he is in her space and pulling her to his chest. She immediately stiffens in his arms but makes no move to pull back. He gently rubs her back and he can feel the front of his tunic dampening with tears that have finally fallen from her eyes._

_It could have been a second or an hour, but he finally lets out the breath he was holding as the rigidity in her frame recedes and she melts into him. A calming peace falls over him and he is filled with a sense of contentment he can't ever remember having before._

_"I'm sorry that happened to you, Rey. You should have been able to be a little girl, have a childhood," he soothes her, surprised at how true the words feel._

_Then as quickly as she allowed herself to be comforted, she pushes herself out of his loose grip and turns her back on him walking swiftly towards her commlink by the sofa._

_"It's late. I'll call for a droid to bring you some blankets," she calls tersely over her shoulder._

_It's clear that whatever moment they just had is over and he returns to the table to eat more while she speaks on her comm and disappears into her bedroom. He figures he's worth more to her alive than dead so he should be safe enough to actually get some sleep. He's not sure how long this truce is going to last before she hones back in on the reason he’s here in the first place: the map. If he's going to have to keep her out of his mind tomorrow, he'll need all the strength he can gather._

Here he lies, still awake on the couch of the Master of the Dark Knights, unbound and on his own recognizance after a very bizarre evening. 

Of the two of them, he's the one that should be scared. He might be much larger than her physically, but he has no doubt she would kick his ass within moments. He can hold his own in a fistfight, but she has the Force and a lightsaber. How can he compete with that? He's very interested in self-preservation, so he’s resigned to the fact that the safest place for him is with her right now.

She told him figuring out Force visions is tricky business, but why would he be shown that if it didn't _mean_ something? After all, he's only had the Force since earlier today and already it's giving him messages. He's somewhat loath to agree with Rey's earlier assessment that there are far too many coincidences going on here for it all to be meaningless. Not the least of which is that the map she wants from him will lead her straight to his uncle. How he's going to protect _that_ little tidbit is a mystery.

It wasn't just what he saw though, it was also what he _felt_. Thinking about it now, she didn't address the feelings that came through with the vision at all. He knows what he felt and what he could feel coming off of her and he's a bit concerned about its implications. What he sensed was strong and mutual. And decidedly _not_ dark. 

Her reaction to the vision is curious. Clearly, she was shaken by what they saw based on how she ripped her hand away and then wouldn't meet his eyes. Also, she said when Force users touch _objects_ , she didn't say touch another _Force-sensitive._ So, is what happened because of this connection they seem to have? Not to mention the vision itself included both of them, together. He has no idea if any of this is normal Force stuff and he's not at all thrilled about being thrown into the deep end like this.

He rolls over on the couch and tries to get comfortable. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath, then breathes in deeply through his nose. He focuses on his breathing for a moment and sees if he can sense her again, like the way she did to him earlier. And he does! He feels her come alert almost the same way he did earlier. Now that he connects with her, he immediately feels that peaceful calm roll over him. It's the last thing he remembers before he falls asleep.

Rey wakes early in the morning, as she usually does. Her morning routine of training and meditating enables her to center herself so she is able to have a clear mind and focus on her tasks for the day. In addition to enjoying some solitude before she has to take command. She reaches out with her senses, as she always does and is alarmed to find a presence in her quarters, just in the other room.

Her distress is quelled swiftly as the familiarity of the supernova stationed in the next room breaks through. She can tell he is still sleeping and she is thankful to have some time alone before he wakes. 

She rises from her bed and pads toward the 'fresher. Before she enters, she peers out into the living room to check on her guest. His massive form is sprawled out on the couch making it look as if it was meant for a child. He must have taken his tunic off to sleep for she has a perfect view of his sculpted bare chest. He's reclining on his back, one arm flung over his eyes and the other hanging off the side, a blanket bunched up at his navel.

Quickly averting her eyes, she makes her way to the 'fresher and closes the door quietly. Examining herself in the mirror, she can see the pink flush on her face after glimpsing his muscular upper body, _naked._ She feels like a creep for having snuck a peek. Then she is angry at herself for even thinking it. Why should she be embarrassed? It's not like she knew he wouldn't be wearing a tunic for Force's sake! 

Shaking her head at her own foolishness, she steps under the stream of water and tries to refocus her attention on something else. The hot water feels good on her skin, warming her up and relaxing her, just like when he embraced her last night. She smiles before catching herself. Oh, _stars_ , she let him hold her; let him comfort her! What the kriff came over her last night? How embarrassing, the most feared of the Dark Knights and she practically fell into his arms crying about her _childhood._ And she really, _really_ liked it. Maker, she needs to do a much better job keeping her wits about her and her emotions in check. She cannot let him get the upper hand or she won't get what she wants.

Truth be told, she is very confused by the rudely large man sleeping in her living room. Yesterday was a whirlwind. She started out in complete control but slowly lost more and more of it as the day, and her contact with _him_ went on. First his resistance to her mind probe, then him penetrating her own shields. Both unheard of. And this connection with him? It's both intriguing and frightening at the same time. 

Then the vision. She can't be certain, but it seems they saw the same exact images. Both with blue lightsabers and looking as if they were ready to fight side by side. 

So, okay fine, maybe she finds and uses a blue lightsaber somewhere and maybe they fight a common enemy. That's all plausible. What's not is the obvious strong emotions between them, the way they looked at each other, as if they were both incredibly important to each other, _vital_ even. It's what she _felt_. It wasn't something that a dark side user is supposed to feel, not what Snoke's apprentice should feel. 

As she finishes washing, she senses Kylo arrive at consciousness, feels him resuming his place in the back of her mind. Yes, it's all confusing and scary, but it doesn't feel bad to have him there. It actually feels...good. _Safe_. And that's what is truly terrifying for someone like her. Someone used to being alone and depending only on herself. She has never needed anyone else to make her feel safe, not since her parents were taken from her.

Kylo is sitting up on the sofa when Rey emerges from her bedroom. He'd taken off his tunic to sleep but made sure to be fully covered by the time she was finished with her shower. Her lithe body is on display as she strides towards her kitchen. She's dressed in tight-fitting black pants and a red top that is short-sleeved and is currently showing off her perfectly contoured abdomen.

"You can use the 'fresher if you want. You'll have to put on your same clothes though," she throws over her shoulder, fetching herself a glass of water. "It will take some time to find some clothes big enough to actually fit you."

His throat bobs when he swallows because as she is speaking, her back is to him and she's just bent over giving him an unfettered view of her perfect ass in those tight pants he's already thought way too much about. He quickly looks away and refolds the blanket sitting beside him to keep his mind busy and off her before the twitch in his pants gets any ideas.

"I ordered some breakfast. Should be here by the time you're done," she informs him, leaning back against the countertop and crossing her ankles.

Clearing his throat first, he answers her with, "Yeah, okay. Thanks." All still with his eyes averted.

He stands and casts a glance at her while he rounds the corner into her bedroom and enters the 'fresher. 

_What is wrong with me?_ he reprimands himself in the mirror. _I cannot be attracted to the person who kidnapped me and is keeping me prisoner!_ Isn't that some kind of special condition when you start feeling sympathy for your captor? That is absolutely _not_ going to happen here.

By the time he is done with his shower, the food has arrived just as she said it would. They eat in somewhat comfortable silence. He'd just refilled his caf when she finally breaks the silence.

"I want to explore what this connection is. I've never heard of anything like this before and it's a bit strange I would have such a thing with someone like _you_."

His eyebrows are almost at his hairline as he drawls, "Someone like me?"

She at least has the grace to look chastened. "I just meant, someone who isn't a Force user. You're a pilot. And you literally just discovered you have the Force yesterday when I've been using it almost my whole life. It's not... _logical_ ," she amends.

He nods and resumes eating.

"I know I have to earn your trust first, so I am going to teach you a few things and let you into my mind. Mind probes only hurt when the subject resists. If it's not resisted, it's quite painless," she finishes matter-of-factly.

"Is that so," he derides, sitting back in his seat, arms crossed on his chest. "How comforting."

Her gaze meets his, head tipping to the side while she rolls her eyes.

"I've been _taught_ how to shield my mind from an unwanted invasion, but you haven't. Yet you were able to keep me from getting inside. It's rather unheard of. I don't think anyone has resisted me before."

"First time for everything," he taunts with a smirk.

She continues as if he'd never spoken, "Then getting inside my mind? Obviously, my shields weren't up because I didn't know you were a Force-sensitive."

"That makes two of us," he scoffs.

"Yes, well. I couldn't sense your signature before but now you are like a blinding sun. I couldn't miss you if I wanted to." She's giving him a studious look, narrowing her eyes.

He feels himself warming while she scrutinizes him, as if he is a puzzle for her to solve. It's unsettling. Partly because he has never considered himself that complicated. But also because her bright hazel eyes are hypnotizing in their beauty. This draw to her is disconcerting. He wonders if she feels it too.

They are seated on the floor of her private training room within her quarters, cross-legged and facing each other. She explains a bit about the Force, but he's heard it all before from his mother. Then she has him close his eyes and to concentrate on his breathing. 

He's doing so calmly when she says, "Now reach out."

Copying what she did in the forest and again in the interrogation room, he extends his arm and splays his fingers.

_Smack!_ He both feels and hears when she slaps his hand down. His eyes snap open at the contact.

"Ow!" he yells, yanking his hand back and scowling at her.

"Not literally, you moof-milker," she announces with a sigh.

"Well that's what you did when you were trying to invade my mind," he retorts, indignant, rubbing his hand where she struck him.

"When I say reach out, I mean with your feelings, not your hand. Okay?" The annoyance in her voice is obvious as she expounds.

"I'll try again," he promises. Closing his eyes, he focuses on his breathing for a few moments.

"Reach out with your feelings," she entreats. Then she waits a few more moments before following up with, "What do you see?"

"I see you," he says. "Not as bright as the sun of midday...more like...a softer light, emerging out of the shadows. Like...the sun rising up over the horizon at the break of dawn. A beautiful sunrise."

His eyes open and she is staring at him in awe. Her eyes wide and lips parted.

His heart is racing with what he senses as her Force signature. He feels a blush drawing across his cheeks realizing he's just called her beautiful. Yet he's also in awe with what he sees. Rey said she couldn't miss his signature if she tried and he is wondering if he will ever be able to not see _her_ in the Force now that he knows what she feels like.

It takes a few more moments for her to recover, her mouth finally clamping shut as she clears her voice.

"Well, obviously you're new to the Force. I'm a dark sider; there is no light," she asserts. And before he can rebut her statement, she continues with their lesson.

"Close your eyes again and this time when you sense me, I'll be thinking about something and I want you to see if you can pick it up. Begin."

He follows her directions and before long, he has something.

"You’re thinking about your lightsaber," he supplies, feeling proud.

"Correct. Now I'll think of a few different things and see if you can find those."

This exercise takes a bit longer because he is not looking for just one thing. But he finds them all.

"You're doing well," she praises him. "I'm going to make it a bit harder. I'm going to put up a barrier with a thought behind it and you see if you can get through."

He nods and closes his eyes in concentration. This is much more difficult. He brushes up against the barrier but can't seem to find a crack in it. Continuing to work at it, he homes in on a surface thought he finds of her curiosity about their connection and it leads him right through her shields to her hidden thought.

"You're thinking about the droid that brought us breakfast," he states with a smile. 

"Good-," she says. But that one thought he found is connected to others and he follows the chain, narrating as he goes along.

"You had a feeling a big man like me would eat a hearty breakfast…"

"Okay, you got it. That's enough-," she says, attempting to end the exercise.

"Especially a man with a muscular chest like…" he halts when he sees himself on the sofa, sleeping bare-chested. "And you're confused by your attraction to-," and that is all he gets out before he is tossed across the room into a heap against the wall by the Force.

"I said that's enough!" she roars. She jumps up and darts out of the room calling behind her, "We're done with training for now."

He's still picking himself off the floor when he hears the door to her quarters swish open and closed.

_Well, that answers that question,_ he thinks to himself. 

_She feels it too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm following the muse on this one. This is the only time I've done a chapter a week like, EVER. For 3 weeks now! Let's see if I can make it to 4! I originally thought this might be a 4 chapter story, but it's looking like it will go more like 10, based on what the muse is telling me.
> 
> Thank you to the incomparable Perry Downing for the beta and help on this chapter. Crazy fast turnaround. 
> 
> If you are enjoying this story, a kudo or comment is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr [@greyforceuser](https://greyforceuser.tumblr.com/) or on Twitter [@forcegrey](https://twitter.com/ForceGrey)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are all well during this difficult time and that this story can provide some small escape from the real world. 💗

Chapter 4

She curses as she storms out of her quarters, her heart racing in both excitement and aggravation.

" _Kriff!_ " 

She did _not_ want him to know she feels an attraction to him. Letting him get the upper hand is something that just cannot be allowed. She must maintain control and be the one in charge. As one of the most powerful beings in the known galaxy, she knows no other way of existing. For him to have even one iota of advantage over her is a novel and unnerving experience that she wants to stifle as quickly as possible.

Stormtroopers smartly scatter in the corridors when they see her marching toward the communal training room she uses with her Knights. They've seen the Master in a rage before and they know better than to be caught in her path when she has that look of vengeance on her countenance.

Once inside the chambers, she pulls a training saber to her hand with the Force while calling a training bot out at the same time so she can hack at it immediately, all the fury she feels exploding inside her.

Her teeth are bared and she's growling when she slashes the droid in half with one downswing of the saber, a spray of sparks shooting across the room with a crash.

Heaving with dark energy, she calls out additional training bots to fire at her indiscriminately and she deflects each shot deftly, reveling in the fast-paced action that keeps her mind from what she entered the training room to forget.

Delaying the inevitable, she rolls on the mat to draw additional fire so she can deflect them as she makes her way acrobatically toward the fast-moving droids. She's engaging in as many moves she can think of to allow the bots to remain active as long as possible, knowing they have no hope of surviving her expulsion of the bloodlust pent up inside her.

Not only did that _man_ get inside her head, but she had also pined over him all night. And it enrages her. She bares her teeth with a snarl, landing another vicious blow on the droid.

She spins and strikes at a different bot while the first one rotates to fire at her again. In all, she started with five bots but the first one she downed immediately. Now, four remain. In the past, she has taken on ten at a time to fully challenge herself. But right now she’s not interested in strategy; she’s interested in _destroying_. Complete and utter savagery.

Her saber hacks and cuts the air at blaster bolts before she lunges and takes out another droid by driving her saber directly through the middle of it. Now three remain. The droids quickly separate themselves throughout the room, making it impossible to dispose of them quickly with her saber. Her lips stretch out in a feral grin.

Plasma bolts come at her fast and furious and she defects and dodges with ease while dashing and rotating to improve her position on one of the droids near the back wall. She uses her smallness and agility to move about the room, taking advantage of every angle she can to take out the training droids, one by one.

The one at the back wall is the next to fall as it succumbs to her flip over it and backhand slash dividing it in two while she freezes bolts from the two remaining with her other hand. She dips down and releases the plasma from her Force hold as she flips and rolls her way to take out another enemy unscathed with an upswing of the deadly blade in her hand.

She shrieks as she is skimmed by a shot when she takes a moment to relish the smoking wreckage of her latest conquest. Her vision tints red as she marches purposefully and angrily toward the final droid that is in rapid-fire against her as it tries to whir and fly across the room. She approaches without theatrics or acrobatics, simply deflecting every shot, twirling her saber this way and that as she has trained to do for years. Her blood thrums with the thrill of the hunt as she is poising herself to close in and go for the kill. She shows no mercy when she finally cuts the droid in half down the middle with a Force enhanced overhead strike, the molten metal smoking as it lands on the floor.

Heaving, but still envigorated by the action, she glances around the room, assessing the devastation she has wrought with her fury from her encounter with _him._ It feels good, having destroyed and lashed out but she quickly realizes it doesn't change the fact that he breached her mind and saw something she didn't want him to. He saw her weakness.

She lets out another string of filthy curses in Huttese at the comprehension of the futility of this exercise, of venting her seething ire. Now she has to go back to her quarters and face him, along with the knowledge that he knows for a fact she feels something for him she shouldn't, that there is more than just the Force connecting them. That it is something much deeper.

Then it comes upon her without warning, a calmness fully envelopes her like a warm blanket being tucked around her during a cold night. It is completely at odds with the destruction she's just wrought in the training room and incredibly disorienting and confusing. 

Once she shakes off the shock of the almost instantaneous de-escalation of her rage, she twists her body and searches her surroundings as if she will find the answer of how her hate was there one moment and gone the next. Reaching into the Force, she only has to focus for a moment before she is gasping out in amazement, her eyes going wide. It's _him!_ Her prisoner, he is doing this. It's _extraordinary!_ He is a complete novice and he is able to affect her so completely like this, so easily. As if he, like her, has used the Force his whole life. 

_How is he doing it?_

His abilities, and his ability to affect her specifically, are a puzzle she resolves to get to the bottom of.

Dropping to the floor where she stands, she assumes the meditation position so that she can try to center herself and get her bearings back before returning to her quarters and facing her failure.

Feeling rather smug with how his training session went, Kylo hoists himself up from the floor with a groan and begins to look around Rey's private training room. Guessing she will be gone for a while given how riled up she was when she stormed out, he begins to peruse the room in earnest. 

There are several weapons along the wall he inspects carefully before taking hold of something that looks like a lightsaber hilt attached to a stick. He draws it from the rack and holds the blade upright. He's never held a real lightsaber so he has no idea if the weight of this training weapon is accurate, but given the saber is her weapon of choice, it makes sense that he learn how to use one. Even if this one isn't a _real_ lightsaber.

Not knowing a thing about sword fighting, he's really just fumbling around like a buffoon, stabbing and parrying at the air like a pirate holovid. But what else can he do? It's not like anyone has ever taught him how to use a sword. His Dad taught him how to use a blaster and how to talk himself out of a sticky situation, not how to wield a blade. Then he stops swinging, pursing his lips, staring at the faux saber in his hand. 

_Maybe Rey will teach me?_ He snorts at his own hubris _. Yeah, that's a long way off yet._

Yet he is aware he should really make use of this time when she is not with him, to either figure out a way to escape (a terrible idea and likely will get him killed) or figuring out how to use his newly discovered Force powers to keep her from getting the map from his memory. Striding to the wall of mirrors, he assumes the lotus position on the floor and places the weapon on the floor in front of him.

Calm, that's what he needs to use the Force. He concentrates on his breathing; in through the nose and out through his mouth, slowing his heart rate until he is fully relaxed. There is a stillness in the Force around him and he slowly reaches out with his feelings. What he wants to do is to try to move the training saber on the floor with his mind. It's a long shot, but he has to try something and that's the first thing he thinks of.

His face tightens as he concentrates, trying to find the inanimate object laying on the floor in front of him in the Force. He tries harder and is immediately assailed with a seething intense rage. He stumbles backward at the strength of these feelings, his hands slapping on the floor behind him. Why would he be feeling such anger? He was serene just moments ago. 

Another stab of hate surges through him and he realizes it is not his own emotions he’s feeling, but _hers_. And she is _pissed._

He's certainly had times when he's been irate, especially at his father for getting him into sticky situations. Or all those times he's had to go get _his father_ out of trouble. Or maybe when his mother tries to get him involved in politics and go all in for the Resistance, trying to convince him to abandon racing altogether. But never has he felt this kind of raw fury before. He didn't know a person could _feel_ this level of anger.

It's all-consuming, suffocating him like he is trapped just below the surface of the water and slowly running out of breath; he can see his way out but he can't _get_ there and now his own panic at his lack of control is starting to pull him down further.

Gritting his teeth, he pushes himself back up to sitting and takes some ragged deep breaths, centering himself as best he can. He's attempting to recapture that serene state he was in previously but it's hard to get back there. He tries picturing a meadow with flowers swaying in the breeze under a bright sun but he can still feel her wrath disrupting his equilibrium. His brain is scrambling for something else to concentrate on when he recalls Rey's smile. The one time he's seen it and he was so mesmerized all he could do was stare.

He pictures that rare image in his mind, the adorable dimples he never could have predicted if he tried. The way her eyes crinkle and her nose scrunches up just so, her straight white teeth and perfectly sculpted pink lips. As he focuses on the individual parts that make up this anomaly, he is also comprehending the whole effect and beauty of her smile. Radiant, in fact. 

He grasps onto the splendor of that sight and feels the anger begin to abate. Then he remembers what it felt like to brush against her Force during the night and he is beginning to feel more relaxed. It takes some time and concentration, but once he feels the tranquility back in place inside him, he imagines pushing it out of himself like a wave. Wherever she is, he hopes the peace he sends out into the Force influences her the same way her tumultuous emotions affected him moments ago.

Now back in balance, he begins again to try and move the training saber.

It's hours before she musters up the courage to go back to her quarters. Which in and of itself is ridiculous because when was the last time she had to find 'courage' to do anything? She's the Master of the Dark Knights for Force's sake and the Apprentice of the Supreme Leader himself. People fear _her._ She shouldn't be afraid of anything, but his little trip into her mind and discovering something she didn't want him to know has made her feel weak, and she doesn't like it one bit.

Nevertheless, she has a job to do and the only way she can get it done is by returning to her quarters and getting to work again. She has learned time and again that there is no room for failure on the dark side. 

The swoosh of her chamber's door sounds behind her and she notices right away she never called for a droid to take away their breakfast food. She'd been anxious to get started training him in the Force and jumped right in. It clearly was forgotten in her rush to leave earlier. But by the looks of it, her _guest_ didn't forget and the plates are almost completely devoid of the food she knows was there before they went into the training room. Internally she cringes, realizing she forgot the midday meal entirely. She's not used to having to worry about anyone else but herself and she shouldn't feel guilty, but she does. And that annoys her even more. 

_Oh, well. He seems to have made due._

Given the lack of a large body in the main area of her quarters, she makes her way to the training room and halts immediately, her eyes bulging and jaw agape. For in front of her eyes, her prisoner who just found out he had the Force a day ago is levitating every weapon in her cache. Admittedly it's not nearly as many as the common training room, but still. This is an impressive display for someone so new to the ways of the Force. She certainly wasn't levitating things on purpose a day after learning she had the power of the Force.

He must have sensed her or maybe that gasp was out loud and not just internally because everything suddenly drops to the floor and he turns around to face her. His expression reminds her of a child who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He rubs the back of his neck while his face flushes pink. Hair askew from the swift turn of his head, she can't be sure, but she thinks she sees the top of his ear and it is bright red. A tightening in her chest at the sight of him blushing is enough to change her own expression from impressed to peeved.

They stare at each other in silence. She has to work hard to remember who she is and what she has to do. Even if she is in awe of his abilities so far, she certainly can't tell him. He already has an advantage over her and she _cannot_ let him have another one. She must remain the one in control.

"Well," she starts. "I'm glad you were putting your time to good use. Tell me how you levitated the weapons?" she asks as she moves about the room collecting the ordnance and putting them back where they belong.

"I, ah…" he pauses to find the right words before continuing. "I centered myself with meditation, then I reached out and pictured the Force wrapping itself around the sword. Then I reached out my hand and pictured it rising as I raised my hand."

"That's very good. Visualization is a particularly helpful tool for using the Force. Especially for physical manipulation," she expounds evenly. "And how did you split your concentration to raise all of them at once?"

"Uh, that part I'm not really sure how I did it," he admits sheepishly as he chews on the inside of his cheek.

It's hard to keep the grin that wants to emerge on her face at his somewhat childish response.

Where did all that righteous anger she felt moments ago disappear to?

Her back is still to him while she finishes putting the last weapon away and she closes her eyes and grits her teeth before turning to face him.

"Okay. We need to get back to work. I'm on a time table," she informs him, trying to intimidate him with the formidable tone of her voice.

"Fine by me. I wasn't the one who ran out of here in a huff," he smirks, his brows raised and a taunting glint in his soft amber eyes.

She ignores his response verbally, but her body reacts to the truth of his words as heat rises up her cheeks.

Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath and bids him to do the same.

"Settle into the Force," she instructs him softly. His deep inhales and exhales tells her he is doing as she directed.

After about a minute, both of their breathing becomes in sync with the other, which she did not expect but is pleased they are both calm and ready to move on.

"Now, open yourself up to me and I'll open up to you," she guides.

She feels his initial hesitation but slowly feels his mind unfurling, allowing her entrance. Her mind is equally open and she treads carefully on this tentative two-way street.

Being more experienced means she has a better idea of what to look for than he does, which is finally an advantage she can claim over him. The first one in quite a while at this point.

But she is not greedy. She is moving along memories and thought patterns gently, not wanting to create any type of confrontational situation. He is sliding into her just as smoothly, though her memories and thoughts are much better organized and compartmentalized, which means he will have a much harder time traversing and penetrating her walls.

And while many avenues in his head are open to her, she is searching for why he didn't know he had the Force and it is there that she comes upon a wall. A complicated, intricately woven Force-created wall.

Why in the Maker's name would he have such a massive Force-created wall in his mind? A wall that is solid and impenetrable without his cooperation. More importantly, what is that wall protecting?

Surprised, she slowly retracts herself from him and he, sensing from her the exercise is over, does the same.

They look at each other in awe, though she is so focused on what she saw, or rather _didn't_ see, she has no idea what he was able to glean from her. Though the sensual feeling of their Forces touching and curling around each other's willingly has caused an ache deep in her bones at the loss. She has never felt such a thing before. It's almost as if having her Force intertwined so completely with his felt like she had finally come home, after an excruciatingly long time away. Now that it's gone, she feels the void in its absence.

And the way he is looking at her, with his skin flushed, lips parted and darkened orbs dropping to her lips before darting back up to her eyes is causing a fluttering in her chest and her breathing to quicken. She licks her lips and swallows as his mesmerizing gaze is drawn to the motion like a moth to the flame. She feels his desire pouring off him now and it incites a coiling deep in her belly.

She feels like she's in a trance, being pulled into him as if the very Force itself is commanding her body to obey its bidding and she is powerless to stop it. Her own stare is now fixed on those parted plush lips, tempting her in a way she has never been tempted before.

Their faces are impossibly close before her lids flicker closed and his moist soft lips touch upon hers. His kiss is soft and gentle, his mouth moving over hers so sweetly and tenderly. However, the passion it ignites inside her is decidedly _not_. 

It's without subtlety and finesse that she kisses him back, _hard_. She knows nothing of kissing and romance, but the fire he just lit inside her is like the flick of a match upon ripe kindling and it sets off a wildfire of desire raging out of control inside her. It's raw and untamed and fierce and he is the only one who can extinguish it.

They reach for each other at the same time and then he is crushing her lithe frame to his massive one, his tongue licking at the seam of her mouth, begging for entrance. She's never kissed anyone before and though she feels clumsy and inexperienced, the desperation to be closer to him overrides everything else and so she follows her instincts.

She parts her lips and his wet hot tongue instantly delves into her mouth with abandon, stroking inside and sliding against her own tongue like he can't get enough of her. A guttural noise escapes her throat and she feels more than hears his satisfied hum. Her hands have wound their way into that luscious raven hair that is as annoyingly soft as it appears to be.

Her fingers scraping across his scalp as their lips meet again and again is now eliciting a groan from the man whose mouth seems to be made for kissing. That coiling in her belly is getting tighter and throb begins at the apex of her thighs the longer they kiss. 

She is so lost in the feelings he is drawing from her right now she doesn't care if she is ever found again. He pulls her even closer so that they are on their knees and their torsos are flush against each other. His warm hands are wandering her back, caressing and kneading her supple skin through her clothes. It's not much longer before she feels something hard and growing larger against her belly that she is shocked out of the haze of her lust.

Gasping and panting for breath, she tears her mouth from his and pushes him away, falling onto her ass in astonishment at what just transpired.

_Oh, Force! I kissed him. How did I let that happen?_

His hair is mussed from her hands and his lips are swollen from the aggressiveness of her kisses. Those previously soft amber eyes are still molten with want. As she assesses him from her spot on the floor, her jaw dropped and panting and he looks about as surprised as she is.

He must feel her panic at what just transpired between them because he is the first to recover himself, running a hand through his hair, an action she has seen him do many times in the last two days. He is the first to speak as he composes himself and sits up.

"Uh…," he starts off, his voice impossibly deep and raspy before he clears it. "I'm sorry."

He glances away from her kiss ravaged visage and straightens his tunic.

She knows he is not to blame, not really. But she can't help how upset she is at herself that she can't seem to keep her emotions or desire in check when she is around him for more than five godsdamned minutes.

"You should be," she spits out at him while she fixes her own clothing and rises to stand. He shifts his gaze to her with a furrowed brow as he also jumps to his feet.

"Hey, I wasn't the only one kissing a minute ago. You kissed me just as much as I kissed you," he throws back at her, indignant.

Incensed, she clenches her lips together and is about to tear into him about how wrong he is when she completely deflates, realizing she has no defense. Because he's right. She _was_ kissing him, and thoroughly enjoyed it to boot. Instead, she turns on her heel and strides out of the training room.

Picking up her comm from the table, she orders a droid to come to clean up the dishes and orders some fruit, cheese, and tea.

She can feel his eyes on her across the room when she finishes speaking into the commlink and she is afraid to turn around and face him. _Again_.

Once again, it's as if he knows exactly how she is feeling and he breaks the silence.

"Listen," he says in that deep soft cadence of his. "I said I was sorry that I kissed you because I could feel you panicking." 

He pauses and she half-turns toward him, risking a glimpse at his face. "But the truth is, I'm not sorry I kissed you. I've felt this connection to you since we met and...and after being your mind, it felt like the most natural thing in the galaxy to do. 

"So no, I'm not sorry I kissed you," he states firmly. Then he does that lip roll and swallow thing she's seen him do a couple of times and he takes a brave few steps toward her. "How can I be when it was the most earth-shattering kiss I've ever had? " he finishes with those soft bright eyes pinning her in her place. 

She should send him flying across the room on his ass or lift him where he stands and choke him with the Force for being so forward with her. _Her._ The Master of the Dark Knights. Snoke's Apprentice. The most feared dark sider in the galaxy.

But she doesn't want to do any of that. In fact, her heart swoons at his words because she feels exactly the same way he described. It did feel natural to kiss him after their minds had been so intimately linked, like it was _destined_. She has nothing to compare the kiss to, but she does feel as if her foundation has been rocked to the core.

"And I want nothing more than to do it again," she hears him admit, almost in a whisper as he finally closes the distance between them, now standing so close to her she turns to face him and has to tilt her head back to meet his regard.

_Force help her_ , she wants the same thing. So like the Master she is, she steps into him and takes what she wants. 

And right now, all she wants is Kylo Ren's lips on hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to know what you think of our two lovebirds! 
> 
> Thank you to the amazing Perry Downing for the help on this chapter. 🙌
> 
> It turns out the kids at home for quarantine might reduce mom's taxi service duties, but it has increased other mom duties dramatically! So the time for writing is just as limited as before. 👎
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr [@greyforceuser](https://greyforceuser.tumblr.com/) or on Twitter [@forcegrey](https://twitter.com/ForceGrey)
> 
> My other fics:  
> [ **To Be In Your Arms Again**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22011532/chapters/52528198) \- WIP - 3/30  
> [This is How Life Strikes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15624126/chapters/36278217) \- WIP - Reylo Modern AU, 23/30.  
> [Let's Meet Under The Mistletoe (COMPLETE)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17180975/chapters/40396676)  
> [Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow! (COMPLETE)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17081243/chapters/40167917)  
> [Love is a Misunderstanding Between Two Fools (COMPLETE)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16410599/chapters/38417672).


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